arXiv subjects

S. Serrano

Publications and source records attributed to S. Serrano.

162 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

First Cosmology Results using Type Ia Supernova from the Dark Energy Survey: Simulations to Correct Supernova Distance Biases

We describe catalog-level simulations of Type Ia supernova (SN~Ia) light curves in the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program (DES-SN), and in low-redshift samples from the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP). These simulations are used to model biases from selection effects and light curve analysis, and to determine bias corrections for SN~Ia distance moduli that are used to measure cosmological parameters. To generate realistic light curves, the simulation uses a detailed SN~Ia model, incorporates information from observations (PSF, sky noise, zero point), and uses summary information (e.g., detection efficiency vs. signal to noise ratio) based on 10,000 fake SN light curves whose fluxes were overlaid on images and processed with our analysis pipelines. The quality of the simulation is illustrated by predicting distributions observed in the data. Averaging within redshift bins, we find distance modulus biases up to 0.05~mag over the redshift ranges of the low-z and DES-SN samples. For individual events, particularly those with extreme red or blue color, distance biases can reach 0.4~mag. Therefore, accurately determining bias corrections is critical for precision measurements of cosmological parameters. Files used to make these corrections are available at https://des.ncsa.illinois.edu/releases/sn.

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arXiv2019

Identification of RR Lyrae stars in multiband, sparsely-sampled data from the Dark Energy Survey using template fitting and Random Forest classification

Many studies have shown that RR Lyrae variable stars (RRL) are powerful stellar tracers of Galactic halo structure and satellite galaxies. The Dark Energy Survey (DES), with its deep and wide coverage (g ~ 23.5 mag) in a single exposure; over 5000 deg$^{2}$) provides a rich opportunity to search for substructures out to the edge of the Milky Way halo. However, the sparse and unevenly sampled multiband light curves from the DES wide-field survey (median 4 observations in each of grizY over the first three years) pose a challenge for traditional techniques used to detect RRL. We present an empirically motivated and computationally efficient template fitting method to identify these variable stars using three years of DES data. When tested on DES light curves of previously classified objects in SDSS stripe 82, our algorithm recovers 89% of RRL periods to within 1% of their true value with 85% purity and 76% completeness. Using this method, we identify 5783 RRL candidates, ~31% of which are previously undiscovered. This method will be useful for identifying RRL in other sparse multiband data sets.

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arXiv2019

Steve: A hierarchical Bayesian model for Supernova Cosmology

We present a new Bayesian hierarchical model (BHM) named Steve for performing type Ia supernova (SNIa) cosmology fits. This advances previous works by including an improved treatment of Malmquist bias, accounting for additional sources of systematic uncertainty, and increasing numerical efficiency. Given light curve fit parameters, redshifts, and host-galaxy masses, we fit Steve simultaneously for parameters describing cosmology, SNIa populations, and systematic uncertainties. Selection effects are characterised using Monte-Carlo simulations. We demonstrate its implementation by fitting realisations of SNIa datasets where the SNIa model closely follows that used in Steve. Next, we validate on more realistic SNANA simulations of SNIa samples from the Dark Energy Survey and low-redshift surveys. These simulated datasets contain more than $60\,000$ SNeIa, which we use to evaluate biases in the recovery of cosmological parameters, specifically the equation-of-state of dark energy, $w$. This is the most rigorous test of a BHM method applied to SNIa cosmology fitting, and reveals small $w$-biases that depend on the simulated SNIa properties, in particular the intrinsic SNIa scatter model. This $w$-bias is less than $0.03$ on average, less than half the statistical uncertainty on $w$.These simulation test results are a concern for BHM cosmology fitting applications on large upcoming surveys, and therefore future development will focus on minimising the sensitivity of Steve to the SNIa intrinsic scatter model.

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arXiv2019

Constraints on the redshift evolution of astrophysical feedback with Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect cross-correlations

An understanding of astrophysical feedback is important for constraining models of galaxy formation and for extracting cosmological information from current and future weak lensing surveys. The thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, quantified via the Compton-$y$ parameter, is a powerful tool for studying feedback, because it directly probes the pressure of the hot, ionized gas residing in dark matter halos. Cross-correlations between galaxies and maps of Compton-$y$ obtained from cosmic microwave background surveys are sensitive to the redshift evolution of the gas pressure, and its dependence on halo mass. In this work, we use galaxies identified in year one data from the Dark Energy Survey and Compton-$y$ maps constructed from Planck observations. We find highly significant (roughly $12σ$) detections of galaxy-$y$ cross-correlation in multiple redshift bins. By jointly fitting these measurements as well as measurements of galaxy clustering, we constrain the halo bias-weighted, gas pressure of the Universe as a function of redshift between $0.15 \lesssim z \lesssim 0.75$. We compare these measurements to predictions from hydrodynamical simulations, allowing us to constrain the amount of thermal energy in the halo gas relative to that resulting from gravitational collapse.

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arXiv2019

Dark Energy Survey Year 1 results: Detection of Intra-cluster Light at Redshift $\sim$ 0.25

Using data collected by the Dark Energy Survey (DES), we report the detection of intracluster light (ICL) with $\sim300$ galaxy clusters in the redshift range of 0.2-0.3. We design methods to mask detected galaxies and stars in the images and stack the cluster light profiles, while accounting for several systematic effects (sky subtraction, instrumental point-spread function, cluster selection effects and residual light in the ICL raw detection from background and cluster galaxies). The methods allow us to acquire high signal-to-noise measurements of the ICL and central galaxies (CGs), which we separate with radial cuts. The ICL appears as faint and diffuse light extending to at least 1 Mpc from the cluster center, reaching a surface brightness level of 30 mag arcsec$^{-2}$. The ICL and the cluster CG contribute to $44\%\pm17$\% of the total cluster stellar luminosity within 1 Mpc. The ICL color is overall consistent with that of the cluster red sequence galaxies, but displays the trend of becoming bluer with increasing radius. The ICL demonstrates an interesting self-similarity feature -- for clusters in different richness ranges, their ICL radial profiles are similar after scaling with cluster $R_\mathrm{200m}$, and the ICL brightness appears to be a good tracer of the cluster radial mass distribution. These analyses are based on the DES redMaPPer cluster sample identified in the first year of observations.

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arXiv2019

A Search for Optical Emission from Binary-Black-Hole Merger GW170814 with the Dark Energy Camera

Binary black hole (BBH) mergers found by the LIGO and Virgo detectors are of immense scientific interest to the astrophysics community, but are considered unlikely to be sources of electromagnetic emission. To test whether they have rapidly fading optical counterparts, we used the Dark Energy Camera to perform an $i$-band search for the BBH merger GW170814, the first gravitational wave detected by three interferometers. The 87-deg$^2$ localization region (at 90\% confidence) centered in the Dark Energy Survey (DES) footprint enabled us to image 86\% of the probable sky area to a depth of $i\sim 23$ mag and provide the most comprehensive dataset to search for EM emission from BBH mergers. To identify candidates, we perform difference imaging with our search images and with templates from pre-existing DES images. The analysis strategy and selection requirements were designed to remove supernovae and to identify transients that decline in the first two epochs. We find two candidates, each of which is spatially coincident with a star or a high-redshift galaxy in the DES catalogs, and they are thus unlikely to be associated with GW170814. Our search finds no candidates associated with GW170814, disfavoring rapidly declining optical emission from BBH mergers brighter than $i\sim 23$ mag ($L_{\rm optical} \sim 5\times10^{41}$ erg/s) 1-2 days after coalescence. In terms of GW sky map coverage, this is the most complete search for optical counterparts to BBH mergers to date

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arXiv2019

Brown dwarf census with the Dark Energy Survey year 3 data and the thin disk scale height of early L types

In this paper we present a catalogue of 11,745 brown dwarfs with spectral types ranging from L0 to T9, photometrically classified using data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) year 3 release matched to the Vista Hemisphere Survey (VHS) DR3 and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data, covering approx 2,400 deg2 up to i_AB=22. The classification method follows the same photo-type method previously applied to SDSS-UKIDSS-WISE data. The most significant difference comes from the use of DES data instead of SDSS, which allow us to classify almost an order of magnitude more brown dwarfs than any previous search and reaching distances beyond 400 parsecs for the earliest types. Next, we also present and validate the GalmodBD simulation, which produces brown dwarf number counts as a function of structural parameters with realistic photometric properties of a given survey. We use this simulation to estimate the completeness and purity of our photometric LT catalogue down to i_AB=22, as well as to compare to the observed number of LT types. We put constraints on the thin disk scale height for the early L population to be around 450 parsecs, in agreement with previous findings. For completeness, we also publish in a separate table a catalogue of 20,863 M dwarfs that passed our colour cut with spectral types greater than M6. Both the LT and the late M catalogues are found at https://des.ncsa.illinois.edu/releases/other/y3-mlt

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arXiv2019

First measurement of the Hubble constant from a dark standard siren using the Dark Energy Survey galaxies and the LIGO/Virgo binary-black-hole merger GW170814

We present a multi-messenger measurement of the Hubble constant H_0 using the binary-black-hole merger GW170814 as a standard siren, combined with a photometric redshift catalog from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The luminosity distance is obtained from the gravitational wave signal detected by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration (LVC) on 2017 August 14, and the redshift information is provided by the DES Year 3 data. Black-hole mergers such as GW170814 are expected to lack bright electromagnetic emission to uniquely identify their host galaxies and build an object-by-object Hubble diagram. However, they are suitable for a statistical measurement, provided that a galaxy catalog of adequate depth and redshift completion is available. Here we present the first Hubble parameter measurement using a black-hole merger. Our analysis results in $H_0 = 75.2^{+39.5}_{-32.4}~{\rm km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$, which is consistent with both SN Ia and CMB measurements of the Hubble constant. The quoted 68% credible region comprises 60% of the uniform prior range [20,140] ${\rm km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$, and it depends on the assumed prior range. If we take a broader prior of [10,220] ${\rm km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$, we find $H_0 = 78^{+ 96}_{-24}~{\rm km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$ ($57\%$ of the prior range). Although a weak constraint on the Hubble constant from a single event is expected using the dark siren method, a multifold increase in the LVC event rate is anticipated in the coming years and combinations of many sirens will lead to improved constraints on $H_0$.

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arXiv2019

Mass Variance from Archival X-ray Properties of Dark Energy Survey Year-1 Galaxy Clusters

Using archival X-ray observations and a log-normal population model, we estimate constraints on the intrinsic scatter in halo mass at fixed optical richness for a galaxy cluster sample identified in Dark Energy Survey Year-One (DES-Y1) data with the redMaPPer algorithm. We examine the scaling behavior of X-ray temperatures, $T_X$, with optical richness, $λ_{RM}$, for clusters in the redshift range $0.2 50\%$ complete for clusters with $λ_{RM} > 130$. Regression analysis on the two samples produces consistent posterior scaling parameters, from which we derive a combined constraint on the residual scatter, $σ_{\ln Tx | λ} = 0.275 \pm 0.019$. Joined with constraints for $T_X$ scaling with halo mass from the Weighing the Giants program and richness--temperature covariance estimates from the LoCuSS sample, we derive the richness-conditioned scatter in mass, $σ_{\ln M | λ} = 0.30 \pm 0.04\, _{({\rm stat})} \pm 0.09\, _{({\rm sys})}$, at an optical richness of approximately 70. Uncertainties in external parameters, particularly the slope and variance of the $T_X$--mass relation and the covariance of $T_X$ and $λ_{RM}$ at fixed mass, dominate the systematic error. The $95\%$ confidence region from joint sample analysis is relatively broad, $σ_{\ln M | λ} \in [0.14, \, 0.55]$, or a factor ten in variance.

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arXiv2019

Rediscovery of the Sixth Star Cluster in the Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

Since first noticed by Shapley in 1939, a faint object coincident with the Fornax dwarf spheroidal has long been discussed as a possible sixth globular cluster system. However, debate has continued over whether this overdensity is a statistical artifact or a blended galaxy group. In this Letter we demonstrate, using deep DECam imaging data, that this object is well resolved into stars and is a bona fide star cluster. The stellar overdensity of this cluster is statistically significant at the level of ~ 6 - 6.7 sigma in several different photometric catalogs including Gaia. Therefore, it is highly unlikely to be caused by random fluctuation. We show that Fornax 6 is a star cluster with a peculiarly low surface brightness and irregular shape, which may indicate a strong tidal influence from its host galaxy. The Hess diagram of Fornax 6 is largely consistent with that of Fornax field stars, but it appears to be slightly bluer. However, it is still likely more metal-rich than most of the globular clusters in the system. Faint clusters like Fornax 6 that orbit and potentially get disrupted in the centers of dwarf galaxies can prove crucial for constraining the dark matter distribution in Milky Way satellites.

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arXiv2019

Finding high-redshift strong lenses in DES using convolutional neural networks

We search Dark Energy Survey (DES) Year 3 imaging data for galaxy-galaxy strong gravitational lenses using convolutional neural networks. We generate 250,000 simulated lenses at redshifts > 0.8 from which we create a data set for training the neural networks with realistic seeing, sky and shot noise. Using the simulations as a guide, we build a catalogue of 1.1 million DES sources with 1.8 < g - i < 5, 0.6 < g -r < 3, r_mag > 19, g_mag > 20 and i_mag > 18.2. We train two ensembles of neural networks on training sets consisting of simulated lenses, simulated non-lenses, and real sources. We use the neural networks to score images of each of the sources in our catalogue with a value from 0 to 1, and select those with scores greater than a chosen threshold for visual inspection, resulting in a candidate set of 7,301 galaxies. During visual inspection we rate 84 as "probably" or "definitely" lenses. Four of these are previously known lenses or lens candidates. We inspect a further 9,428 candidates with a different score threshold, and identify four new candidates. We present 84 new strong lens candidates, selected after a few hours of visual inspection by astronomers. This catalogue contains a comparable number of high-redshift lenses to that predicted by simulations. Based on simulations we estimate our sample to contain most discoverable lenses in this imaging and at this redshift range.

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arXiv2019

Three new VHS-DES Quasars at 6.7 < z < 6.9 and Emission Line Properties at z > 6.5

We report the results from a search for z > 6.5 quasars using the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Year 3 dataset combined with the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS) and WISE All-Sky Survey. Our photometric selection method is shown to be highly efficient in identifying clean samples of high-redshift quasars leading to spectroscopic confirmation of three new quasars - VDESJ 0244-5008 (z=6.724), VDESJ 0020-3653 (z=6.834) and VDESJ 0246-5219 (z=6.90) - which were selected as the highest priority candidates in the survey data without any need for additional follow-up observations. The new quasars span the full range in luminosity covered by other z>6.5 quasar samples (J AB = 20.2 to 21.3; M1450 = -25.6 to -26.6). We have obtained spectroscopic observations in the near infrared for VDESJ 0244-5008 and VDESJ 0020-3653 as well as our previously identified quasar, VDESJ 0224-4711 at z=6.50 from Reed et al. (2017). We use the near infrared spectra to derive virial black-hole masses from the full-width-half-maximum of the MgII line. These black-hole masses are ~ 1 - 2 x 10$^9$M$_\odot$. Combining with the bolometric luminosities of these quasars of L$_{\rm{bol}}\simeq$ 1 - 3 x 10$^{47}$implies that the Eddington ratios are high - $\simeq$0.6-1.1. We consider the C\textrm{\textsc{IV}} emission line properties of the sample and demonstrate that our high-redshift quasars do not have unusual C\textrm{\textsc{IV}} line properties when compared to carefully matched low-redshift samples. Our new DES+VHS $z>6.5$ quasars now add to the growing census of luminous, rapidly accreting supermassive black-holes seen well into the epoch of reionisation.

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arXiv2018

Dark Energy Survey Year 1 results: Validation of weak lensing cluster member contamination estimates from P(z) decomposition

Weak lensing source galaxy catalogs used in estimating the masses of galaxy clusters can be heavily contaminated by cluster members, prohibiting accurate mass calibration. In this study we test the performance of an estimator for the extent of cluster member contamination based on decomposing the photometric redshift $P(z)$ of source galaxies into contaminating and background components. We perform a full scale mock analysis on a simulated sky survey approximately mirroring the observational properties of the Dark Energy Survey Year One observations (DES Y1), and find excellent agreement between the true number profile of contaminating cluster member galaxies in the simulation and the estimated one. We further apply the method to estimate the cluster member contamination for the DES Y1 redMaPPer cluster mass calibration analysis, and compare the results to an alternative approach based on the angular correlation of weak lensing source galaxies. We find indications that the correlation based estimates are biased by the selection of the weak lensing sources in the cluster vicinity, which does not strongly impact the $P(z)$ decomposition method. Collectively, these benchmarks demonstrate the strength of the $P(z)$ decomposition method in alleviating membership contamination and enabling highly accurate cluster weak lensing studies without broad exclusion of source galaxies, thereby improving the total constraining power of cluster mass calibration via weak lensing.

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arXiv2018

Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Measurement of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation scale in the distribution of galaxies to redshift 1

We present angular diameter distance measurements obtained by locating the BAO scale in the distribution of galaxies selected from the first year of Dark Energy Survey data. We consider a sample of over 1.3 million galaxies distributed over a footprint of 1318 deg$^2$ with $0.6 < z_{\rm photo} < 1$ and a typical redshift uncertainty of $0.03(1+z)$. This sample was selected, as fully described in a companion paper, using a color/magnitude selection that optimizes trade-offs between number density and redshift uncertainty. We investigate the BAO signal in the projected clustering using three conventions, the angular separation, the co-moving transverse separation, and spherical harmonics. Further, we compare results obtained from template based and machine learning photometric redshift determinations. We use 1800 simulations that approximate our sample in order to produce covariance matrices and allow us to validate our distance scale measurement methodology. We measure the angular diameter distance, $D_A$, at the effective redshift of our sample divided by the true physical scale of the BAO feature, $r_{\rm d}$. We obtain close to a 4 per cent distance measurement of $D_A(z_{\rm eff}=0.81)/r_{\rm d} = 10.75\pm 0.43 $. These results are consistent with the flat $Λ$CDM concordance cosmological model supported by numerous other recent experimental results. All data products are publicly available here: https://des.ncsa.illinois.edu/releases/y1a1/bao

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arXiv2018

Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Methods for Cluster Cosmology and Application to the SDSS

We perform the first blind analysis of cluster abundance data. Specifically, we derive cosmological constraints from the abundance and weak-lensing signal of \redmapper\ clusters of richness $λ\geq 20$ in the redshift range $z\in[0.1,0.3]$ as measured in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We simultaneously fit for cosmological parameters and the richness--mass relation of the clusters. For a flat $Λ$CDM cosmological model with massive neutrinos, we find $S_8 \equiv σ_{8}(Ω_m/0.3)^{0.5}=0.79^{+0.05}_{-0.04}$. This value is both consistent and competitive with that derived from cluster catalogues selected in different wavelengths. Our result is also consistent with the combined probes analyses by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), and with the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies as measured by \planck. We demonstrate that the cosmological posteriors are robust against variation of the richness--mass relation model and to systematics associated with the calibration of the selection function. In combination with Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) data and Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) data, we constrain the Hubble rate to be $h=0.66\pm 0.02$, independent of the CMB. Future work aimed at improving our understanding of the scatter of the richness--mass relation has the potential to significantly improve the precision of our cosmological posteriors. The methods described in this work were developed for use in the forthcoming analysis of cluster abundances in the DES. Our SDSS analysis constitutes the first part of a staged-unblinding analysis of the full DES data set.

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arXiv2016

SPOKES: an End-to-End Simulation Facility for Spectroscopic Cosmological Surveys

The nature of dark matter, dark energy and large-scale gravity pose some of the most pressing questions in cosmology today. These fundamental questions require highly precise measurements, and a number of wide-field spectroscopic survey instruments are being designed to meet this requirement. A key component in these experiments is the development of a simulation tool to forecast science performance, define requirement flow-downs, optimize implementation, demonstrate feasibility, and prepare for exploitation. We present SPOKES (SPectrOscopic KEn Simulation), an end-to-end simulation facility for spectroscopic cosmological surveys designed to address this challenge. SPOKES is based on an integrated infrastructure, modular function organization, coherent data handling and fast data access. These key features allow reproducibility of pipeline runs, enable ease of use and provide flexibility to update functions within the pipeline. The cyclic nature of the pipeline offers the possibility to make the science output an efficient measure for design optimization and feasibility testing. We present the architecture, first science, and computational performance results of the simulation pipeline. The framework is general, but for the benchmark tests, we use the Dark Energy Spectrometer (DESpec), one of the early concepts for the upcoming project, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). We discuss how the SPOKES framework enables a rigorous process to optimize and exploit spectroscopic survey experiments in order to derive high-precision cosmological measurements optimally.

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arXiv2015

The Dark Energy Camera

The Dark Energy Camera is a new imager with a 2.2-degree diameter field of view mounted at the prime focus of the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter telescope on Cerro Tololo near La Serena, Chile. The camera was designed and constructed by the Dark Energy Survey Collaboration, and meets or exceeds the stringent requirements designed for the wide-field and supernova surveys for which the collaboration uses it. The camera consists of a five element optical corrector, seven filters, a shutter with a 60 cm aperture, and a CCD focal plane of 250 micron thick fully-depleted CCDs cooled inside a vacuum Dewar. The 570 Mpixel focal plane comprises 62 2kx4k CCDs for imaging and 12 2kx2k CCDs for guiding and focus. The CCDs have 15 microns x15 microns pixels with a plate scale of 0.263 arc sec per pixel. A hexapod system provides state-of-the-art focus and alignment capability. The camera is read out in 20 seconds with 6-9 electrons readout noise. This paper provides a technical description of the camera's engineering, construction, installation, and current status.

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arXiv2011

DECam integration tests on telescope simulator

The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is a next generation optical survey aimed at measuring the expansion history of the universe using four probes: weak gravitational lensing, galaxy cluster counts, baryon acoustic oscillations, and Type Ia supernovae. To perform the survey, the DES Collaboration is building the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), a 3 square degree, 570 Megapixel CCD camera which will be mounted at the Blanco 4-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter- American Observatory. DES will survey 5000 square degrees of the southern galactic cap in 5 filters (g, r, i, z, Y). DECam will be comprised of 74 250 micron thick fully depleted CCDs: 62 2k x 4k CCDs for imaging and 12 2k x 2k CCDs for guiding and focus. Construction of DECam is nearing completion. In order to verify that the camera meets technical specifications for DES and to reduce the time required to commission the instrument, we have constructed a full sized telescope simulator and performed full system testing and integration prior to shipping. To complete this comprehensive test phase we have simulated a DES observing run in which we have collected 4 nights worth of data. We report on the results of these unique tests performed for the DECam and its impact on the experiments progress.

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